Escaping Fox River | Prison Break [On Hold]

Chapter 8

I leaned back on my hands, listening to the rumble of the train beneath me. We had been on here for about five minutes and I was getting anxious. Lincoln was sitting next to me, his eyes unfocused. My heart squeezed, knowing he was thinking of Veronica's death.

"How far away is the car, Michael?" I asked, wiping a sweaty palm on my pants. He was looking out the open train car, his head whipping from side to side as he watched the surroundings until it was out of view, and repeated the action.

"We just passed it." Michael responded, nonchalantly. I frowned.

"What? Then why haven't we gotten off yet?" Michael turned around to face me, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you trying to die jumping out of a train at this speed?" he asked and I pursed my lips.

"Good point." I said. He turned back to look outside and hopped up, a smile appearing on his face.

"The train is about to slow down for about ten-seconds before it starts up again. That's the only window of opportunity we have to get off if we want to make it to the car." Michael explained, looking at his watch.

"How do you know this?" My head snapped in Lincoln's direction when he spoke. His arms were resting on his raised knees and he was finally looking up.

"I planned for many alternatives in case we got delayed." Michael answered, waving his arms up, indicating that we needed to stand up. "It's almost time." I could feel the train start to slow down, but it was still going a bit too fast for my taste. If I was going to jump off, I wanted to at least think that I was going to land safely and not shoot out like a rocket.

I started to stand, but the train suddenly jerked, causing me to fly into the large crates that were next to the train car's opening. Lincoln turned around, but Michael either didn't hear or didn't think anything happened. The crates tumbled down and fell on me, pinning my legs to the ground.

"Melanie!" Lincoln shouted over the wind, running to help me.

"We need to jump now!" Michael shouted, before taking off and hopping out the train, not looking back.

"No! I'm fine. Follow your brother." I said, wincing at the weight of the crates. I lied. I was so not fine. He hesitated, but he ran and jumped out, landing in the bushes. I saw him scramble up and start to run alongside the train, with Michael trailing behind.

"What's going on? Melanie, you need to jump now!" Michael yelled. I tried to yank my legs out, but it didn't work. I would need to go from the top and start removing the crates that way, but I wouldn't have enough time.

"Mel, jump!" Lincoln's face was turning red as he kept up with the train, determination on his face.

"I'm stuck!" I finally cried out, looking towards the opening. The wind was blowing my hair in every direction and the force of it made my eyes water. Lincoln surged forward and grabbed my hand, trying to keep up with the fast moving train. It was picking up speed and soon, Lincoln wouldn't be able to run alongside it anymore. "You need to let go, Linc!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Lincoln said, a certain urgency in his voice. Tears started to burn the back of my eyelids, blurring my vision.

"You have to." I stated, trying let go of his hand. I ducked my head, trying to catch my breath since speaking against the wind felt like cement going down my throat. I lifted my head and saw Lincoln stumble, but he recovered and looked back at me, a distraught look on his face.

"Linc, you need to let go now. You're running out of ground!" Michael shouted from behind Lincoln. I turned my head and my pulse quickened when I saw that Michael was right. If Lincoln didn't let go of my hand now, he would run off the cliff that was ahead and most likely die.

"Lincoln, please!" I pleaded, not wanting to lose him after not being with him for all these years. Lincoln's face glistened with tears, mirroring my own.

"I can't leave you again." he said, his voice cracking. He was panting hard and I knew I was going to regret what I was about to do next. But if I didn't do it, he would die.

"I'm sorry, Linc." Confusion filled his eyes and I raised my hand and smashed my fist against his fingers. He yowled in pain, releasing my hand for a moment. I pushed him back, which caused him to slip and fall back into Michael, right in front of the cliff.

"No!" The pain stricken yell that erupted from Lincoln pierced my heart and I watched through my blurred vision as they got smaller and smaller as the train rumbled along at full speed. I found Lincoln, just to lose him right after. My tears fell rapidly and I sobbed my heart out, letting the wind carry my tears away.